Tar balls reported along beach in Gulf Shores

View full size(Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)Workers in protective suits check the beach in Gulf Shores after tar balls were found in Baldwin County.Crews in environmental protection suits were on the beaches of Baldwin County today, cleaning tar balls that began washing up earlier that day, Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said.

He said the substance was first reported this morning west of Lagoon Pass. Other tar balls have been reported to the west near Fort Morgan and farther to the east near the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores.

"At this point, we don't really know what is going on, but they are being tested and we are taking precautions," Craft said.

He said a subcontractor working for BP was sent to the beach and was cleaning up the substance. Craft said the cleanup was scheduled to be completed by this afternoon.

Craft said he saw four tar balls while walking about 200 yards along the beach near Lagoon Pass.

"The smallest was about the size of a hamburger patty and the largest was about the size of a notebook," Craft said. "They were big enough that people can avoid them. Right now, we don't know if they're hazardous, but we're telling people to avoid them and let the contractors clean them up."

He said the tar balls that he saw were similar to the descriptions of those that washed up at Dauphin Island over the weekend. Craft said the Dauphin Island tar balls were said to possibly have come from substances attached to the Deepwater Horizon rig when it blew up on April 20.

He said the Gulf Shores tar balls may also have come from the rig instead of the oil slick that has spread in the Gulf since the rig was destroyed, but material will have to be tested before anyone knows.